My first teacher of writing, back in the early Jurassic when I was in
college, suggested that a good way to learn to write was to write autobiography
- on the theory that the writer would learn to economize on word-usage
from a desire not to be seen as a self-aggrandizer.

And so I try that here.

My name - Thomas McKelvey Cleaver - is symbolic of the three great streams
of immigration that created this place we call America. I used to hate
my name as a kid, since it was so different from those of my friends,
who claimed it was “high falutin.” When I later learned it
was three of the four surnames in my family, and what they symbolized,
I began a lifelong love affair with the true history of my country.

William Thomas was a Welsh farmer forced off his land by the enclosure
movement in 1747; history says this was important in the development of
England as the first industrialized country, but I grew up learning the
old doggerel that “the man who stole the goose from the commons
was transported to America, while the man who stole the commons from the
goose was transported to Parliament.” He wound up in Pennsylvania,
where a generation later his son William Jr. would join the Continental
Army with his good friend Isaac Cleaver - the great-great-great-great
grandson of Peter Klebber, a German Quaker from Frankfurt who led his
Meeting to Pennsylvania in the second year of colonization in 1681, where
they would found what is now the Philadelphia suburb of Germantown and
become the first group of Europeans in history to make the non-ownership
of slaves a condition of membership in their community in 1688. Together,
they crossed the Delaware with General Washington and both stood proud
as Sergeants of the Continental Army six years later at Yorktown. James
McKelvey, a Scotts-Irish radical who participated in “The ‘99"
- the only Irish rebellion against English oppression that involved both
Protestants like my ancestor and Catholics - arrived in America in 1800,
running from Lord Cornwallis’ noose. The fourth name in my family
- Weist - arrived as political refugees in 1849. Peter Weist - Professor
of Humanities at the University of Frankfurt and a member of the Congress
of Frankfurt in the Revolution of 1848 - arrived in New York City with
a Prussian death warrant on his head. His sons would fight for freedom
a decade later, while his great-grandsons would participate in the final
destruction of Prussianism a century later on the beaches of Normandy
and the battlefields of Europe.

My family came to America seeking religious freedom, economic freedom,
and political freedom - just like yours did, whenever they arrived. It
is a 325-year-old struggle that continues today with as much strength
and fury as when the first of my ancestors bumped into North America.

In my own life, I learned at an early age the facts, but not the content,
of my family history. I began learning the content on August 2, 1964.

That night, I had the mid-watch (0000-0800) in the Staff Operations
Shack aboard the USS “Pine Island,” as a member of the enlisted
staff of Commander Patrol Forces, US 7th Fleet. In those days, the world
was quiet enough that no one said a word if you pulled four chairs together
into a “rack” and got a little shut-eye. But at 0100, I was
awakened to sign for a FLASH message from our destroyer on the Bulova
Patrol in the middle of the Tonkin Gulf. USS Maddox reported she was under
fire from enemy PT boats.

My job was to awaken the Chief of Staff - a very competent US Navy Captain
- and the Admiral. That was something else. The Admiral had won the Navy
Cross at the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 24, 1944, leading airplanes
from escort carriers with no worthwhile armament against the main Japanese
Battle Fleet, which was in position to destroy the invasion of the Philippines.
They convinced the Japanese admiral from the fury of their attacks that
he should reverse course. My Admiral won victory from the jaws of defeat.
But, by the time I knew him 20 years later, my Admiral was a drunk. The
event that began that night is known to history as The Tonkin Gulf Incident
- the formative event that brought America full-force into the Vietnam
War. My life would be intimately involved in this war - and the war against
the war - for the next nine years. It would define my life to this day.

A month later, I began a lifelong learning process that the country
I love and the government that runs that country are not inseparable.
“Pine Island” was in Subic Bay and I was on liberty in Olongapo
- a city known through several generations of sailors as “the asshole
of Asia.” I walked into a bar, and there was a friend I had made
back in the States in firefighting school while we were awaiting transportation
to WestPac. We’d last seen each other six months before in Yokosuka,
Japan, where we’d celebrated his promotion to Fire Control Technician
Third Class. Only now the rank insignia on his uniform was Seaman/Fire
Control Technician “Striker.” A demotion.

After a couple of ice-cold San Miguels, I heard his story: Senior Petty
Officer of the Watch in the fire control tower aboard USS Maddox on August
2. That night, he convinced the Captain there were no targets to fire
on. The next night, after they’d been joined on patrol by USS Turner
Joy, the Commodore of the Destroyer Division ordered him to open fire
on enemy targets. He responded that the only target was Turner Joy and
refused three orders to “open fire,” with the result he was
court-martialed for disobedience to a direct order and reduced in rank.

Four years later, I would work with Fred Gardner to create “Support
Our Soldiers,” the GI Anti-war Coffeehouse movement. On that same
night in 1964 Lt(jg) Gardner - Assistant Gunnery Officer aboard USS Turner
Joy - ran from the fire control tower to the bridge to inform his commander
that there was only one target on the radar: Maddox.

The truth of “the Tonkin Gulf Incident” it that had not
a 20 year old Petty Officer 3rd Class and a 24 year old junior Lieutenant
not adhered to the naval traditions they had been educated in, one American
ship would have sunk the other that night. History would have been far
different. In all my years of opposition to the war, I was never so happy
as I was in 1970 when Daniel Ellsberg released “The Pentagon Papers”
and I could tell the story I have just told you, with official documents
to back me up. Finally!

I went to college and worked against the war, but putting up with people
who didn’t understand my story or the fact that I had fought in
the war and now wanted to fight against the war was too much - I ended
up quitting school and working with Fred Gardner and several other good
people, in the GI antiwar movement. I ended up at “The Oleo Strut”
in Killeen, Texas, just outside Fort Hood.

In those days, Fort Hood was a “holding center” for Vietnam
veterans who had more than 90 days left in their term of service. That
summer, these combat-veteran troops were assigned to riot control. In
late July, they learned 5,000 of them would be sent to Chicago to back
up the Chicago Police at the coming Democratic National Convention. No
one wanted to go. We came up with a little yellow 2" x 2" sticker:
a white hand in the “peace symbol” backed by a clenched black
fist. We made 1,000 of them, and the GIs took them with the intention
of putting them on their helmets if they were called into the streets
of Chicago.

The rest is history. Governments do not put troops into the street they
cannot depend on completely. Thus, the troops stayed on the Great Lakes
Naval Training Center, and the Chicago PD knew they had no back-up. The
Great Chicago Police Riot at the Democratic Convention was the result.

My other claim to historical relevance came that fall when I was responsible
for booking acts at The Oleo Strut. A young teenager with a good blues
band drove up from Austin to convince me he should be hired. The band
sounded good and they were willing to work for the peanuts I could pay.
The GIs loved them and they became regulars. In 1986, Stevie Ray Vaughan
came over to me at the US Film Festival in Dallas and told his friends
how I was the first guy to ever offer him a paying gig - he was that kid
18 years previous! Who knew? I’ve missed him every day since that
awful crash at Stone Mountain.

In 1978 I received a letter from the Office of Professional Responsibility
of the Department of Justice, asking me if I would like to have my COINTELPRO
file. I said yes, and learned that the history I have outlined above was
even more difficult, inasmuch as we were “targets” of the
U.S. Government as “threats to national security.” Today,
we face much worse under the “Patriot” Act.

I eventually obtained a Master of Public Administration degree in Environmental
Management while working for one of my SF State professors, Bob Mendelsohn
- member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. From there I worked
for Willie Brown in Sacramento, re-electing Democrats to the Legislature,
till I went through two divorces for politics and could no longer deal
with things. I ended up in Los Angeles where I became a screenwriter (ten
years in politics is a great “boot camp”) and spent the past
20-odd years writing a couple OK movies and checks for good causes.

I’m now a Hollywood screenwriter “over the age of 40"
who didn’t make the studios a bazillion dollars. I lost my nice
little home in the hills and now live in an “immigrant community”
in the San Fernando Valley where I have relearned a lot of necessary lessons
about what the Democratic Party must be about if we are to be the party
we say we are. I’ve recently “re-upped” with old comrades
from that war against the war I wrote of above, and I am egotistical enough
to believe I have some knowledge to pass on to a new generation.

I am very glad to be working with my comrade-in-arms, Ryan Oddey. As
a member of the generation who said “Don’t Trust Anyone Over
30,” I have come in recent years to believe “Don’t Trust
Anyone Under 30.” Ryan - who I met through the power of the internet
- proves me wrong on that point every day in every way. We have gathered
a group of writers of diverse age, diverse background, and diverse viewpoint,
united in a single goal. I’d have loved to have each of them as
a comrade in arms in the fights I have described above.

I hope we’ll stimulate thought - and more importantly, action
- in the struggle to take back our country from those who represent the
dark side of American history. My family’s known them and fought
them for a long time.

I respectfully disagree with my comrade about his assessment regarding
the level of trust you can put into my generation. I believe that every
generation has its people that are inspired to make a difference, regardless
of their age. My pathway into politics and blogging has been an interesting
one, and I get excited when I realize that I am still in the early stages
of my journey.

I have always been fascinated with government, and how it has evolved
over time to the point of the current state of affairs. However it wasn’t
until after the attacks of September 11 that I considered becoming more
involved. Prior to 2001, I attended college in western New York with the
idea of studying communications. I lasted a year, grew bored with the
material, and decided to leave college and head out into the work force.
At that point I moved to Troy, New York, rented a house with a friend,
and went to work. It was during this time that I discovered what it felt
like to live paycheck to paycheck. I barely made enough money for me to
live on, and I couldn’t imagine trying to support a family on those
wages.

Then one day I turned on the news and heard about a plane striking the
World Trade Center. I turned to coverage of the first plane crash, and
felt my heart sink when I watched the second plane hit the towers. Like
so many Americans, I will not forget the feeling I had when I realized
we were under attack. I can still remember how difficult it was to call
my mother and inform her what was unfolding.

It is with the utmost sincerity that I tell you the attacks of September
11th made me appreciate life much more, and inspired me to become more
involved with government. I returned to college in the Spring of 2003
when I heard about a night program offered by Harvard University. I managed
to save enough money to give myself one semester to prove that I belonged
in the degree program. Now, a couple years later, I am close to completing
my bachelors degree.

I believe that education is a life long experience. Educating people about
the issues is what That’s Another Fine Mess (TAFM) is all about.
I helped start That’s Another Fine Mess because I still believe
that we can help ourselves the most when we are educated. Politics is
an important part of our national landscape, and our country deals with
many difficult issues at home and abroad. This site will help bring you
information as well as provide a means where you can discuss the issues
of today and tomorrow. Myself, along with the other contributors, will
offer ideas on a range of different things, and I hope you will share
your opinions with us as well. I hope that talking about the issues will
be the first step towards taking action and making the United States of
America live up to its full potential, at home and abroad.

Dallas Foster - Contributor
- Dallas is an aircraft mechanic and member of the
International Association of Machinists who lives in Texas.

Xaivier Martin - Contributor
- Xaivier was born in Oklahoma City, OK, but got to Texas as fast as possible.
Xaivier’s eyes were opened to the political world at the tender
age of 10 when his mother became the first African-American to run for
school board in the city’s history. From that point on, Mr. Martin
has spent a great deal of his life in politics. Highlights include meeting
Ann Richards and waiting for hours in the winter winds of Texas to hear
Bill Clinton speak. Not following the lead of his military family (all
branches are represented during holiday gatherings), Mr. Martin prefers
the pen to the sword. He is a former staff writer with The Dallas Morning
News and has worked as a speechwriter and campaign manager for various
races in Texas. He is a published poet, freelance journalist and aspiring
screenwriter. Brought up in the Lone Star State and
educated in the Northeast; Mr. Martin is Northern Diplomacy and Southern
Rebellion rolled into one.

Jake Gates - Contributor
- Jake is an actor and screenwriter living in Los Angeles.

Scott Isebrand - Contributor
- Scott was raised in Iowa in the Christian Right, and is today a politicalactivist
in New York City regularly involved in Democratic Party work,
including as a member of the Board of Governors of the NYC Stonewall Democrats
and Vice-President of Community Free Democrats, Manhattan’s largest
Democratic
club—founded by Congressman Jerrold Nadler and others (including
then-Democrat
Dick Morris) in 1969. Scott has a Masters in Religion from Yale University,
is a member of the National Center for Science Education, (which battles
the encroachment of Creationism in America’s public schools), and
is also a keen observer of the politics of Britain, where he served in
the 1990’s as a Research Assistant in the House of Commons under
Martin O’Neill, MP (Labour Party – Ochil, Scotland). In 2004,
he founded his own progressive political website, www.Isebrand.com.